Reading Resources:
Edmund Sprunger “Helping Parents Practice” (teenagers or tweens)
William and Constance Starr “To Learn with Love”
Shigeki Tanaka “Evenything Depends on How We Raise Them: Educating Young Children by the Suzuki Method”
Dr. Suzuki “Ability Development form Age Zero” and “Young Children’s Talent Education and Its Method”
Dr. Suzuki “Where Love is Deep” and “Nurtured by Love”
Masaaki Honda “A Vehicle of Music”
John Kendall “Recollections of a Peripatetic Pedagogue”
Edward Kreitman “Teaching with an Open Heart”
William Starr “The Suzuki Violinist”
Carroll Morris “A Suzuki Parent’s Diary” and “How I survived My First 10,000 Twinkles”
Many articles in the American Suzuki Journal
Ways to Encourage and Facilitate Practicing:
Reduce the number of competing activities – children need time to be a child and space between activities.
Provide motivation – attend concerts and performances of great classical musicians, and participate in every opportunity for child to perform. Plan celebrations for reaching achievable goals, like Book Recitals followed by a special event or party. Review of old pieces can be very gratifying for the child, as they perceive how much they have improved.
Keep instrument in tune, plenty of rosin and extra strings on hand – parent’s need to learn how to maintain the instrument, or seek help from the private teacher or local music store.
Help the child know what to practice – parents should take notes and videos during lessons. If the teacher’s directions aren’t clear, ask for clarification before you leave the lesson. Most teachers are also happy to receive an email or call during the week is an issue is preventing progress in practice sessions. Be sure there is consistency if more than one parent is overseeing practice time.
Communicate if you see the child is feeling overwhelmed – teacher and parents must be on the same page regarding expectations. Communicate if there are life events or unusual circumstances that will prevent daily practice time, or if the teacher is assigning too much.
Take responsibility for committing to the daily practice time with your child – the parent is the child’s most important advocate and role model. Find a time of day that makes the most sense for your child’s age and needs as well as the family’s schedule, then stick to it. Try to give a five-minute warning before practice time begins, and remember to leave time in between activities. If you think your child is ready to practice alone, discuss this with the teacher.
Keep your comments positive - negativity makes practice harder. Practice should feel like a safe place to make mistakes. This is especially important with children who are perfectionists! If a mistake is made, encourage them to just try again. Be firm but keep your cool, always remembering the goal is the child’s character development, not musical prowess. The parent should schedule the practice time and discipline to initiate, but the child should determine when to end practice time, based on their ability to maintain focus.
Establish a set practice space with minimal distractions. Keep all supplies easily accessible – music stand, metronome, music, notebook, and instrument. Allowing your child to help create this space allows for a creativity and ownership. Assigning space in the home shows your child that your family values the activity of music and the time spent practicing.
Help your child know how to practice – practice should be modeled after the lesson, and the teacher is responsible for teaching the parent how to practice at home. Refer to lesson notes often. Expect there to be struggles; everything of value takes effort, so allow your child to have the joy of overcoming difficult passages with perserverance (see Ed Sprunger’s book: Helping Parents Practice).
Keep it playful - the more games the better! Be creative knowing your child’s needs and preferences. Prizes and rewards do not have to be expensive or unhealthy, but individually tailored based on the age and stage of each child. Sometimes the greatest reward is accomplishing a difficult task, and feeling proud for the hard work expended.